How long does it take to read An Uncommon History of Common Things?
Bethanne Kelly Patrick
An Uncommon History of Common Things by Bethanne Kelly Patrick takes about 5 hours 33 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 5 hours 33 minutes
A weekend read
First published 2008. 303 pages, about 83,325 words.
12 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 9 hours 16 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 5 hours 33 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 3 hours 28 minutes |
The page count is the median across 3 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
From hand tools to holidays to weapons to washing machines, "An Uncommon History of Common Things" features hundreds of colorful illustrations, timelines, sidebars, and more as it explores just about every subject under the sun. Who knew that indoor plumbing has been around for 4,600 years, but punctuation, capital letters, and the handy spaces between written words only date back to the Dark Ages? Or that ancient soldiers baked a kind of pizza on their shields--when they weren't busy flying kites to frighten their foes? Every page of this quirky compendium catalogs something fascinating, surprising, or serendipitous. A lively, incomparably browsable read for history buffs, pop culture lovers, and anyone who relishes the odd and extraordinary details hidden in the everyday, it will inform, amuse, astonish--and alter the way you think about the clever creatures we call humans.
Subjects: Chronology, Miscellanea, Civilization, Questions and answers, Curiosities and wonders, United states, civilization
